I've just read the following article and thought I'd share it with c 'n z...and at the same time I'm wondering what our favourite words are..golly let me think...I doooooooo like "cloudmilk"..there didn't seem to be a ban on compound words! any Scrabble addicts out there?

Mother is the most beautiful word in the English language, followed by passion, smile, love and eternity, according to a worldwide survey released today.

The British Council, the government agency that promotes British culture around the globe, quizzed more than 40,000 people in 102 non-English speaking countries on their favourite words.

Fantastic, destiny, freedom, liberty and tranquility filled out the top 10 ranking of most beautiful English words, out of a list of 70 words -- a number deliberately chosen to mark the British Council's 70th anniversary.

Others that made the grade included lollipop at number 42, flip-flop (59), hen night (70) and banana (41), along with twinkle (23), hiccup (63), hodgepodge (64), whoops (56) and oi (61).

"It's interesting that mother, the only word of the 70 that describes a direct relationship between people, came top of the poll," said British Council spokesman Greg Selby.

Father didn't make the list at all._________________"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

Ah...Pilgrim at Tinker Creek...now there's a book with beautiful words!_________________"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

Although not everyone in the world is a foodie, chef, food addict or cook, it's interesting that there are no words related to cooking, food, the presentation, taste, smell, look of food and food-related items.
Not that I have any words, but I used to love the sound of 'drizzle of olive oil' a few years ago, until I found it in almost ever book and menu I read...

serendipity! get's me every time... and even typing the words "iced chocolate" beings on the "oh my oh my!" feeling. I'm sooooo glad chocolate made it first off the block in the blog title...imagine zucchini and chocolate!...nup ...always dessert first! When looking at a menu I always read the dessert section first..._________________"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

See now this depends very much upon a central question that is not answered here.

Do you mean beautiful word as in asthetics, the sound or appearance of the word disassociated from any emotional contact of its meaning? If so then I would nominate Serendipity and Malignant .

Do you mean a word, that by its very meaning comes to symbolize a great human emotion or universal truth? If so then I nomenate Peace, and Love.

Do you mean a word that combined with its asthetics and emotional links proves to be endearing for many reasons? If so I nominate Kristin, for she has changed my life and taught me the meaning of all the other nice words out there._________________Whiped, Beaten, Denatured: Journey of an aspiring chef. http://denatured.greenkri.com

There are so many words that have beautiful conotations.... but if you talk about a word that sounds like what it does or is, I think the most beautiful descriptive word would have to be "scoop" It sounds like what it is. When you scoop up a trowel full of sand it makes a "scoooop" sound. When you scoop up a cup of rice, lentils, sugar, etc etc it makes a "scooop" sound. That sound means the start of something new to me and that is always exciting, and quite often "a beautiful thing"._________________If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

You have some very nice words there. Scalloped is another one that sounds like it does. I also like the sound of cilantro, think that is coriander in Australia? This might be my word of the week! Cilantro.

Thank you for that one._________________If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

Oh, I'm glad that you adopted that homeless little word for a week!
yes, cilantro is coriander, just like arugula=rocket salad (less poetic, however). and it has a really powerful scent and taste that I absolutely adore ( people tend to cherish basil or mint...never understood the craze around mint leaves...). It goes well with everything (that I've tried): stir fried veggies, roasted pork, hummus, to replace basil in pesto (in that case, use hazelnuts instead of pine nuts for the mix)...

David, you beat me to it!!
The first word that came to me when I read the subject on the C&Z home page was: PUPPY.
Nothing looks better, feels better, makes me feel better, smells better and is more fun than a puppy.